10.05.2012
Two classic images by Roy Lichtenstein and Francis Bacon tied for top price at the second of three Sotheby’s sales on Wednesday night. Francis Bacon’s Figure writing Reflected in a Mirror (1976) and Roy Lichtenstein’s Sleeping Girl (1964) both went for US$44.8 million each.
Although the Sotheby’s sale was a more sober affair than the one at Christie’s on Tuesday, both showed that collectors from all over the world continue to be drawn to dropping their cash in art they can enjoy, particularly when it is universally recognizable, Wendy Vogel from NY times reports. "There's a global hunger for icons," said Tobias Meyer, the evening's auctioneer and Sotheby's contemporary head, "you can see from the depth of bidding that this is a broad and deep market."He added, “The market is more global than ever before,” pointing out that the five bidders for Lichtenstein’s Sleeping Girl, came from China, North and South America and Europe.
Christie’s Tuesday blockbuster set a record for the highest total for a contemporary art sale, $388.5 million. Sotheby’s auction totaled $266.6 million, in the middle of its estimate of $215.6 million to $303.9 million. | |  | Roy Lichtenstein
Sleeping Girl (1964), oil and magna on canvas. Estimate: $30/40 million. Sold for $44,882,500 | | | .jpg) | Francis Bacon
Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror (1976), oil on canvas. Estimate: $30/40 million. Sold for $44,882,500 | | | | | | | |
